6.  The applicant was born in 1966 and lived before his arrest in Kaliningrad, Kaliningrad Region.
7.  On 13 December 1999 the applicant was arrested and two days later he was placed in detention facility no. IZ-39/1 in Kaliningrad. On his admission to the facility he received a fluorography examination which revealed no signs of tuberculosis. On 20 June 2000 the applicant underwent another fluorography test which also showed no symptoms of the illness.
8.  On 16 January 2001 the applicant was once again subjected to a fluorography examination which detected tuberculosis changes in his left lung. On the basis of that examination the applicant was diagnosed with infiltrative tuberculosis (“TB”) of the upper lobe of the left lung and transferred to the pulmonary tuberculosis ward of the medical department of the detention facility, where he remained until 28 January 2002.
9.  Despite the Court's request for them to produce the applicant's complete medical record, the Government only submitted medical documents drawn up after 28 January 2002. Relying on a certificate issued by the head of the medical department of the Kaliningrad Regional Department of Execution of Sentences, the Government argued that in facility no. IZ-39/1 the applicant had undergone an intensive course of anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy comprising two unidentified drugs. As follows from that certificate, in May 2001 a positive dynamic in the treatment of the illness was registered. However, on 5 August 2001 the applicant's state of health seriously deteriorated. A medical examination by a tuberculosis specialist on 16 August 2001 led to the applicant being diagnosed with acute viral respiratory infection. He was prescribed “symptomatic treatment”. A fluorography examination performed on 3 September 2001 revealed a negative dynamic of the tuberculosis process showing an increase in the number of disintegration cavities. The doctor's diagnosis was “infiltrative tuberculosis of the upper lobe of the left lung in the disintegration phase, [presence of mycobacterium tuberculosis (“MBT”)], progress of the tuberculosis process and 1-2 stage hypotrophy”. According to the same certificate, the regimen of anti-tuberculosis treatment received by the applicant was amended to take the deterioration of his health into account. The applicant was prescribed “infusion chemotherapy”, including a number of drugs (izoniazid, ethambutol, and rifampicin) and detoxication therapy.
10.  An extract from the applicant's medical record drawn up on 26 June 2003 shows that the deterioration of the applicant's health in August 2001 was linked to “irregular medication”.
11.  On 28 January 2002 the applicant was discharged from the medical department of the detention facility with a final diagnosis of infiltrative tuberculosis of the upper lobe of the left lung in the disintegration phase, and sent for subsequent treatment to tuberculosis hospital no. 5 in Kaliningrad. On the applicant's admission to the hospital the attending doctor made an entry in his medical record noting that the applicant was calm and collected, exhibiting strong determination to continue anti-tuberculosis treatment. The applicant did not make any complaints about the quality of the treatment provided to him in the tuberculosis hospital.
12.  On 11 November 2002, following a series of examinations by a forensic medical commission, the applicant was assigned second degree disability status because of his tuberculosis. In July 2004 he underwent stabilising thoracoplasty followed by an intensive course of anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy. The applicant was recommended further surgery following his release from detention.
13.  From 15 December 1999 to 28 January 2002 the applicant was detained in facility no. IZ-39/1. According to the applicant, that detention facility was built in 1929 and no renovation work has been done on the cells since.
14.  According to certificates issued on 12 July 2007 by the director of the facility and produced by the Government, the applicant was kept in nine different cells which measured 7.8, 16.7, 17.4, 18.4 and 21 square metres. The smaller cells had two sleeping places, the three larger cells were equipped with four bunks and the largest cell had five sleeping places. The Government submitted that the information on the exact number of inmates detained together with the applicant was not available. They further noted that at all times the applicant had had an individual bunk and bedding.
15.  Relying on the information provided by the director of the facility, the Government further argued that the sanitary conditions in the cells were satisfactory.  In particular, the Government submitted that the cells received natural light and ventilation through a window measuring 1.2 square metres. The cells had no artificial ventilation. Each cell was equipped with a lavatory pan, a sink, a tap with running water, wooden benches and a table. Inmates were allowed to take a shower once every seven to ten days for no less than fifteen minutes. Clean bedding was also provided once a week. The cells were disinfected. Inmates were afforded an hour of outdoor recreation per day in twelve-square-metre yards equipped with wooden benches and covered by a shed roof against rain and snow. The Government, relying on the information provided by the director of the facility, further stated that the applicant was given food “in accordance with the established norms”.
16.  The applicant did not dispute the cell measurements. However, relying on submissions by his former fellow inmates whose complaints about the conditions of detention in facility no. IZ-39/1 had already been examined by the Court (see, among other authorities, Artyomov v. Russia, no. 14146/02, §§ 123-133, 27 May 2010, and Shilbergs v. Russia, no. 20075/03, §§ 89-99, 17 December 2009), he alleged that the cell which measured 21 square metres had had eight sleeping places and had usually housed 24 inmates. The smallest cells, which measured 7.8 square metres, had either four or six sleeping places and accommodated from 8 to 12 detainees. The remaining three cells were equipped with eight sleeping places and housed 16 inmates. Given the lack of beds, inmates had slept in shifts. They were not provided with bedding.
17.  The applicant further submitted that the sanitary conditions had been appalling. The cells were infested with insects but the management did not provide any insecticide. The walls in the cells were covered with a thick layer of mould. Pieces of plaster were falling from the walls. The applicant submitted that the windows were covered with metal blinds which blocked access to natural light and air. It was not before 25 November 2002, that is long after his transfer to another detention facility, that the metal blinds were removed in compliance with the recommendations of the Russian Ministry of Justice. It was impossible to take a shower as inmates were given only fifteen minutes and two to three men had to use one shower head at the same time. That situation was further aggravated by the fact that inmates could only take a shower once every two weeks. Inmates had to wash and dry their laundry indoors, creating excessive humidity in the cells. They were also allowed to smoke in the cells. The toilet was a filthy hole in the floor, separated from the living area by a small partition, and spread an unpleasant odour in the cell. At no time did inmates have complete privacy. Anything they happened to be doing – using the toilet, sleeping – was in view of the guard or fellow inmates. No toiletries were provided. The food was of poor quality and in scarce supply.
18.  The applicant complained to various Russian authorities, including the Kaliningrad Regional Ombudsman, about the poor conditions of his detention. On 28 June 2001 the applicant received a letter from the Ombudsman which, in so far as relevant, read as follows:
“An inspection, performed by the Kaliningrad Regional Ombudsman on 25 April 2001 in the detention facility established that [each inmate] has less than one square metre of personal space while the required norm is 4 square metres for each detainee, thus the constitutional rights of detained individuals are being violated. Other violations of sanitary norms and [norms] related to medical assistance were discovered and the Ombudsman recommended the head of detention facility no. IZ‑39/1 to eliminate [those violations].”
19.  On 12 July 2001 the applicant lodged an action against detention facility no. IZ-39/1 and the Ministry of Finance seeking compensation for damage caused to his health because he had contracted tuberculosis in detention, had been denied access to adequate medical services and had been detained in appalling conditions for almost two years after his arrest.
20.  On 19 November 2001 the Tsentralniy District Court of Kaliningrad dismissed the action, reasoning that as the applicant had been medically examined on his admission to facility no. IZ-39/1, had remained under constant medical supervision and had shared cells with healthy inmates, there was no evidence of fault on the part of the facility administration for the damage caused to his health. In addressing the applicant's complaint about the poor conditions of his detention and a possible link between the detention conditions and his having been infected with tuberculosis, the District Court found as follows:
“[The applicant's] arguments that sanitary requirements were not complied with in the detention facility are unsubstantiated, as the representative of the detention facility refuted those arguments ... despite the fact that the facility premises need reconstruction, all sanitary measures are taken in the facility; tuberculosis patients take showers separately from healthy inmates, then the premises are disinfected. There are separate premises for outdoor walks for tuberculosis patients. Those premises are also disinfected.
It was established in the course of the hearing that [the applicant] had not had tuberculosis before or been registered as a tuberculosis patient, and that his tuberculosis had been detected for the first time in the detention facility.
However, that circumstance cannot serve as a ground for upholding the plaintiff's claims, because the cause of the illness was not established and the prison authorities were not at fault; furthermore, there was no action/inaction on the part of the prison administration which could have created the conditions for the development of the plaintiff's illness.
The overcrowding in the cells of the detention facility is an objective circumstance which was not caused by the facility administration and, moreover, the court did not establish a direct causal link between the overcrowding in the cells where [the applicant] was detained and his illness.”
The applicant participated in the hearings before the District Court.
21.  The applicant appealed, and sought leave to attend the appeal hearing.
22.  On 27 February 2002, in the absence of the applicant, who had not been notified of the hearing, the Kaliningrad Regional Court upheld the judgment of 19 November 2001. The Regional Court concluded that the fact that the applicant had contracted tuberculosis in the detention facility “could not serve as evidence of the defendant's fault in having caused the illness” because the cause of the tuberculosis had not been and could not be established.
23.  On 22 April 2002 the President of the Kaliningrad Regional Court lodged an application for supervisory review of the judgment of 27 February 2002, arguing as follows:
“In violation of the requirements of Article 299 of the RSFSR Code of Civil Procedure the [Regional] Court examined the case upon [the applicant's] action although there was no evidence that the plaintiff had been notified of the date and place of the court hearing.
[The applicant] is in detention and was not brought to the court, however, he has the right to submit his arguments, [or] participate in the proceedings through his representative ... and, thus, he has to be promptly notified of the day of the examination of the case.”
24.  On 16 May 2002 the Presidium of the Kaliningrad Regional Court accepted the application for supervisory review, quashed the judgment of 27 February 2002, having endorsed the arguments of the Regional Court President, and sent the case for fresh examination by the appeal court.
25.  In March 2002 the applicant lodged an additional statement of appeal, informing the Regional Court that he had appointed two lawyers to represent him during the appeal proceedings. He also noted that in the event of the lawyers' failure to appear, the Regional Court should issue the judgment in their absence. No request for leave for the applicant to appear before the Regional Court was filed.
26.  By a letter of 27 May 2002 the Regional Court informed the applicant's lawyers and the applicant that a hearing had been scheduled for 19 June 2002.
27.  On 19 June 2002 the Kaliningrad Regional Court, having examined the case on the basis of the parties' written submissions as the applicant's representatives and the respondent party failed to appear, upheld the judgment of 19 November 2001. The Regional Court confirmed the District Court's findings that the applicant had been healthy before his placement in custody, and that tuberculosis had only been detected more than a year after his admission to the detention facility. It further endorsed the District Court's conclusion that it was impossible to establish the cause of the illness and that there was no fault on the part of the facility administration in the deterioration of the applicant's health. Without providing any details, the Regional Court further stressed that the applicant had been subjected to regular medical check-ups during his detention and that he had received the necessary medical assistance. It also noted that the fact that the cells in the detention facility had housed 1.5 times more detainees than they had been designed to accommodate could not be the cause of the applicant's illness.
28.  The applicant was served with a copy of the judgment on 16 August 2002.